mardi 11 mai 2010

Hiding in Triangle is a Diploma project by Philip Modest Schambelan and Anton Fromm for their last year in the Technische Universität Dresden (Germany). It introduces a mountain bike hotel hanging on a cliff over the Lake Garda (Italy). Its structure and its bike paths compose a very interesting three dimensional maze between the earth and the rooms.

Here is Philip and Anton's introduction text:

The new mountain bike hotel on the edge of Pregasina in Italy offers sports enthusiasts a unique place to stay, an unforgettable view and a fast connection to an impressive variety of routes, trails and single tracks.Pregasina is located on a plateau 500 meters above the northern tip of Lake Garda. A hill is a line-of-sight obstruction to an extensive view of the Alps. To totally exploit the panoramic view the new hotel is situated on a steep mountain ridge on the southeastern edge of the small town. This on the one hand dissociates the new building of the traditional architecture, on the other hand the unconventional construction can be guessed by a small protrusion.The following principles determine the draft: complete access by mountain bike at all levels, maximum use of the panoramic view of Lake Garda and the mountain slopes of the Alps, no impairment of the view from Pregasina and a full and individual accommodation of riders and sports equipment in each residential unit.To ensure the trafficability each access element has a tilt angle of 12 °. The angle of the access routes to each other changes both by the natural curve of the mountain, as well as by the decreasing distance between the building and the mountain in the vertical direction. These two factors generate the fixed points in the front supporting framework, as well as spaces in the metal braiding. In these spaces, the residential units will be established. The structure is stabilized by three cores, which provide access to the rooms. Thus, way and construction form a unit that defines the form.The access routes form two different paths, which are connected on the top and bottom floor. This system of a contiguous band provides an optimal pathways in terms of trafficability and the access to each residential unit.The main facade is oriented towards the north-east, which guarantees each unit a view of the northern tip of the lake. At the same time it allows shading of the living areas by the hill. The communal areas such as coffee shops, snack bar, the sun deck and a media room are located on the top floor, Level 0, which looks out over the mountain easily. Here, the sunlight is desired and used.The mountain bike hotel is an attractive residential experience, which captivates guests with its impressive design, access system and aesthetics, and will become the newest magnet for extreme sports enthusiasts in the Alps.